Friday, September 22nd, 2017

I am looking forward to a new season after a trying month. It’s been hard to get back in the groove after having a couple weeks of craziness due in part to hurricane Irma. I am very grateful that the storm was not as bad as what we had prepared for, my heart breaks for the people who were severely impacted by Irma (and Harvey). It was quite a scare starting on Wednesday September 6th, there was talk of a monster storm on the local news. I casually went to Publix mid-morning to grab a few things. The parking lot was packed and there were no shopping carts, all the water was completely gone which sent me into a bit of a panic. We watched the storm carefully that week and by Friday my neighborhood had been issued a mandatory evacuation. We had planned to move into my parents house on Saturday because they are higher up. As it shifted more towards the west coast that night my parents woke me up at 4am telling me to get up and pack. My thoughts and emotions were all over the place at this point. How do you just make a split second decision about ‘necessities’ when your whole life in a home you’ve built over so many years! I cried as we frantically packed a few things and loaded our car with minimal clothes, a cooler, and our three pets. Hunters parents didn’t want to leave and neither did my grandparents. I cried even more. We followed my parents up to my other grandparents house in South Carolina. My cousins followed us too, we had a caravan the whole way. Stopping every time we saw gas which was very scarce. Thankfully my dad has been making this drive for many years so we avoided a lot of the traffic that was being reported. It was such a eerie feeling to see so many people in a panic; cars packed to the brim, many with multiple pets like us, and lines so long at every gas station police had to come and direct because people were getting so crazy. I have lived in Florida my entire life (and so has my dad’s family) we’ve NEVER seen anything like this. Same with most of my closest friends, everyone left town. Floridians normally do not freak over storms. It was insane. We tried to enjoy our four days in South Carolina but I couldn’t help but wonder if we’d have a home to go back to. I’m thankful for friends who were in touch the whole time, knowing we were all in this together. After the storm passed, some friends that stayed in town stopped by my house to check on it. So much relief that the storm had died down and we only received minor damage. We drove back the next day, which was an even creepier drive than the way up. Even less gas and no power anywhere, it was really hard to even find a bathroom to stop at as everything was closed due to the power. No street lights either. It took 14 hours (normally it’s 9-10). When we got back my parents had power but we didn’t for two days so we stayed with them. I couldn’t believe it came on so soon. We’ve had friends just get it back this week. The photos from the Keys, Miami, Naples, etc are devastating. I can’t begin to imagine. It’s been really amazing to see how everyone has supported each other during this time. And all the people making supply runs down to the keys. We had 5 friends come over without being asked to chop down this giant tree that fell in our yard. These times help show us what and who matters most, I’m thankful for this experience because it definitely was a learning one. Thank you to everyone who reached out on insta to make sure we were okay!

Here are some photos from our time away. I always love being at my grandparents house. It’s so cozy and nestled in a sleepy little town. It was Blade’s first road trip and he had the time of his life being with everyone 24/7 and having so much space to run in the woods at their house. The last few photos are my house before we started clean up (which is still in progress, the tree services have not been able to pick up debris yet and it’s still piled in front of everyone’s yards!).

I finally feel like I’m catching up and am looking forward to starting a new week with hopefully less drama! And back to posting some new work and exciting projects next week 🙂

Hope you have a great weekend.

XO

(above is the back door which was unusable at first, bottom you can see how big this monster tree was)

Monday, September 12th, 2016

We’ve been nonstop since returning from New York a few weeks ago (blog post on that to come). I’ve been painting like crazy, getting the last bit of holiday products ready to launch, and updating the shop with all kinds of fun new things. New cards, enamel pins, sticker sheets and more are all now available on Etsy!

Hope you have a lovely week.

XO

Friday, August 19th, 2016

I am beyond thrilled to be one of Etsy’s Open Call Finalists! This weekend we will head to New York for a few fun filled days of hanging out at Etsy’s beautiful headquarters in Brooklyn and to pitch our line to a handful of retailers. The companies involved in this years open call are Macy’s, Paper Source, Wholefoods, Giggles, and Cooper Hewitt! How exciting! I really can’t believe it and am so honored I was picked for such an amazing opportunity. You can read a little more about it and see the other 35 finalists on Etsy’s blog here

We will have a little free time to explore the city this weekend and plan to pop in to the NY NOW shop going on at the Javitz. We hope to show at NY NOW next year (in addition to NSS) so I’m really looking forward to checking it out. We’ve never stayed in Brooklyn before (we’ll be in Dumbo) any recommendations on this super cute area would be appreciated. I will be posting some BTS on instagram so be sure to follow along while we’re away @shannonkirsten

Monday, May 2nd, 2016

Hi all! Welcome to the new blog! I’m so excited to share this brand new space with you. I know there has been some radio silence here lately but there have been so many changes and lots of excitement behind the scenes.

We’ve been working on the site for the past couple months. I designed the pages and then handed it off to the team at Captivation Media who brought it to life. I’m so pleased with how it turned out and with the process. So excited to have a space all my own. I was in desperate need of organization, cohesiveness, and design updates. Everything is in one spot now and easy to browse, shop, and read about updates! There is lots of new work in the portfolio so do check it out!

National Stationery Show is coming up in two weeks! I can’t believe I’m even typing that. It’s my first time showing and I’ve been stressed to the max getting everything finalized and ready to go. So much goes into trade shows, more then I realized when I signed on to exhibit. I’m thankful for Trade Show Boot Camp, I took the course last fall and learned so, so much. All of my new products are printed, wholesale catalogs, boxes packed, booth designed, now we just have to get ourselves and everything up there. I can’t wait to share our experience when we get back. Please send us your prayers, positive vibes, and thoughts as we take this big step. After the show all of the new products will be available in the shop; over 30 new greeting cards, iPhone cases, new gift wrap prints and more!

You may of seen some photos on instagram but I also moved into a new studio last month. With all the craziness lately I haven’t quite organized and decorate how I want yet but I will be sure to share more photos when it’s completed. It is in a pretty historic building in our downtown area (of Bradenton, Florida). Huge windows that flood the space with natural light. We painted everything white, the before and afters are crazy. I am considering having an open studio day every week so that will be fun for local friends to stop by, see what we’re up to, and grab some cards!

I guess I have been a busy bee this year! I’m thankful for your continued support and all of the sweet comments on instagram. I can’t wait to share more features and projects on the blog this year and find new ways to share with you. Speaking of, we have a newsletter now! Click on the tab in the sidebar to sign up (I won’t be spamming you, I promise). Newsletter recipients will be the first to know about new product launches and shop updates and special promotions from time to time.

Thanks for stopping by the new space. Much love!

xoxo

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016

Hello! I have been slow to catch up on the blog this month but I have some sort of okay excuses:

Client work has been at it’s busiest as I work with brides for spring weddings. I’ve got some stylish, design loving gals right now and I couldn’t be more excited about making their wedding stationery visions come to life. Plus a few other interesting client projects I’ll be sharing soon.

I am also finalizing the last bit of designs I will be showing at NSS in May. I am so excited to get everything I’ve been working on to the printer and see the final products. The above photos are some greeting cards in progress. Then the fun part of shooting a wholesale catalog is one of the biggest things I have left to do. This will be fun for me to style, play with flowers, and shoot myself. Can’t wait to share some sneaks when that gets underway next month.

AND I decided to move my business out the house (finally!) and into my first official studio space. The last photo is from painting the walls in the new space this past weekend and a little sliver of my view of our downtown area. I seriously can’t believe this is happening. We have some more work to do before I can officially move in (ya know, since I wanted everything to be all white. lol). So many mixed emotions about this next step. Growing is scary but I am so thankful it’s happening.

You guys are wonderful, all the nice words on social media about my Hallmark collab was overwhelming. Big thanks and XO’s.

Wednesday, January 27th, 2016

Hello! Just popping in to share a few favorite snaps of some work in progress from this past week. The above photo seemed to be a hit on instagram. I loved all the nice comments about me switching it up a bit (with my color palette). YES, I will offer this as a print as soon as I have a free moment to clean it up and get a test print made to make sure it looks great before I offer to y’all. I never, ever use orange and yellow. Not because I hate them, I’m just not drawn them I guess. I don’t wear these hues much / don’t like how they look on me so maybe that’s why? Anyways, I am challenging myself to introduce some new color combos into my life (all aspects of it) this year…

I’ve also been really into old folk art lately and have been researching various European styles. I’m not really trying to create an accurate depiction of it, but I like to feel inspired by different types of art and then just make it my own. Hence, the above and below photos. This stool has been around for years and I just randomly did this to it last week, ha. I’m liking it so much that I am painting part of my spring collection in this style. I can’t wait to share what I’m working as spring and the National Stationery Show get closer!

A few snippets from my desk and deciding what to turn these guys into…

Finally, my painting area after a long week. It’s not cute but it’s necessary to my productivity. I like being able to leave everything out as sometimes I need to go back and forth from here to my computer. Coffee, a million paints, tiny brushes… ya know, all the essentials for surviving around here. haha.

Hope you all are having a lovely week. It’s raining today but Florida is finally experiencing our tiny spurt of winter. Not complaining about putting my favorite sweaters and boots to use that I never get to wear!

Thursday, December 10th, 2015

What a busy, amazing month December is turning out to be. I have been hustling to finish client orders, promptly ship holiday items, and get the studio organized for a new exciting year.

A few snaps of life lately…

The beautiful rose garden in Winter Park

A few projects in progress

Celebrated my birthday with a couple nights at Park Plaza, the cutest little hotel in Winter Park. Complete with shopping with my mom. She snuck my floral heart print and had it printed on my birthday cake. So cute.

(below) I think this photo of Twiggy’s little paws and illustration of here was my most liked instagram photo yet. So crazy. Definitely keeping my fellow cat ladies in mind as I expand my stationery collection for National Stationery Show next year!

(above) more holiday florals

(below) my real life ‘pinterest wall’ above my painting area in the studio, it’s been getting crazy lately but I like to see my works in progress and I also still rip things out of magazines for inspiration. AND pumpkin spice iced coffee, duh.

Hope you all are having a lovely week. I’m dying for Halloween to get here. It’s my favorite and it’s also our anniversary! Although, I really can’t believe it turns November on Sunday. Lots of hustle before the end of this year.

XO

Tuesday, June 16th, 2015

A few miscellaneous snaps of what has been going on around here lately…

Styling lots of products, some new and some old. I’ve been enjoying styling and creating more intentional photos for social media and the blog. I love how cohesive they are beginning to look, something I’ve been wanting to work on for a while. It becomes to easy to take a quick snap and post but I’ve long admired the feeds and blogs that just flow beautifully together. Speaking of instgram…

…Thank you for 10k! I hit 10,000 followers this weekend and just can’t believe that so many of you enjoy scrolling my feed and sharing my excitement as I post projects (and sometimes travels with an occasion kitten photo, haha). Social media and all it’s done for my business really blows my mind. I’m so grateful to be able to share and connect with clients, friends, and fellow makers through those little squares. ‘ppreciate ya!

I’m not usually one to selfie on there anymore but my friend and hair stylist Ali, did my hair lavender yesterday. Pretty exciting since I’ve been the same shade of blonde for years now. The salon she works at Acqua Aveda on Anna Maria Island also has an adorable boutique. I couldn’t resist this Minkpink shark print swimsuit on my way out the door yesterday. (Available online here)

Finally, a couple in progress studio snaps. A cat print in the making because, duh. Below, a tentative design for some notepad style weekly planners. What do you think of these? I am a list maker and it just seems natural for me to create some more products like this. Stay tuned.

I’m trying to blog more but my head is swirling with projects and photos that need final editing and proofs before I leave for ICELAND in just a couple short weeks! Breathe, stay focused, hustle, and everything will fall into place. Right? RIGHT!

XO

Friday, December 12th, 2014

It’s been a whirlwind lately with the holidays in full swing. Here is a little glimpse inside December so far. My favorite month!

(above) Some of my favorite cards from my shop. Remember, this is the last weekend to shop! I’m closing my shop for holiday at the end of next week. Thursday will be the last date to receive orders in time for Christmas!

Client meetings with beautiful and delicious lattes at Oxford Exchange

Some office snaps: A little corner of my studio (looking forward to get a little more organized up in here for 2015) / Calligraphy in grey tones (favorite!) / More poppies of course / some of my favorite greyscale floral prints available in the shop

My renewed passport aka daydreaming a lot about my upcoming trip to Antarctica. Only 15 more days until we leave. I am over the moon excited for this experience.

Celebrated my birthday (a few times). As usual my family, friends, and Hunter made the whole week exciting and special. There were lots of flowers, cocktails, and cake. Brunching and dinner. And my mom and I went to Orlando for the night. We stayed at the Grand Bohemian, got massages, and did some shopping. It was all perfect!

As for this weekend I will be catching up on painting and editing, wrapping presents, beginning to bake, and working on some fun projects for this little ole blog. Hope everyone has a lovely weekend as well. xox

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2014

It’s my birthday today. I can’t believe how quickly another year has passed. So many mixed emotions about this time in my life. It’s crazy. My 20’s have been so good to me when I really think about all the things I’ve gotten to do and accomplish. I mean really. I’m at a loss for words today but just feeling extremely grateful for all of my blessings. My work, my family, and friends… *happy tears*

Off to enjoy brunch this morning, dinner with my family tonight, and then Orlando tomorrow. My mom is treating me to a spa and shopping day Thursday and Friday, pretty excited about that.

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week! Be back soon xx

Monday, November 24th, 2014

A few new prints I added to the shop this weekend. They are available in 8″ x 10″ and 11″ x 14″. I picture these in sets hanging in cute kitchens (that’s what I’m doing with mine at least!). And perfectly sweet gifts for the coffee lover or foodie friend. xx

Monday, November 3rd, 2014

WORK: I slowed down on custom for hot minute to work on some illustrations and products I’ve really been wanting to create for my shop. I can’t wait to receive samples back from my printer and have them available in the coming weeks. I’ve been working on some Christmas items as well, more on those very soon! The second photo is from a photo shoot for a colloboration that we’ll be announcing later in the week. I updated my shop with a handful of new greeting cards, listed some past holiday favorites, and new suites from the summer that are now available for customization. Check out the new listings here!

HOME: We decorated for fall just a tiny bit with the cutest heirloom pumpkins from Trader Joes. I hung some of my vintage paintings in the dining room, they’ve been needing a home for awhile. Twiggy has enjoyed laying on the table and basking in the sun from our back windows. We enjoyed pumpkin everything, including these bagels from Trader Joes. Lastly, I began painting and reforming my walk-in closet, I’m probably a little too excited about this room of the house. I decided on a very dark accent wall (the rest white of course). Before and after photos to come!

LIFE: The weather was finally cool this weekend! We were beyond excited to sit outside and enjoy a chilly ocean breeze. We actually caught a sunset this month. Even though a few trips to the beach and to Ringling (the rose photo) were for photo shoots, it’s still such lovely scenery to enjoy while working. Lastly, Hunter and I celebrated three years on Halloween. Life is good. I’m getting so stoked for the holidays, even though this will be my last chill week and weekend at home, I’m looking forward to all that these next two months have in store.

Happy November (& Monday!) my friends… xox

Wednesday, October 15th, 2014

A few snapshots from around the studio this past week. Working on several color ways of this floral print for greeting cards! I made a pink one a while back and loved it, it was time to add more. I also started on some holiday goods that I’m excited to have in my shop soon! The little fruits will be turned into a print with a vegetable companion to match! The others are just some preliminary paintings playing around with lots of color (with Twiggy who likes to help me).

xox

Monday, September 15th, 2014

I’ve been painting flowers and wreaths like crazy for the past couple weeks. I’ve also enjoyed using just black / grey to create some greyscale florals. My hope is that most of these will turn into new prints, cards, and other fun paper products…trying to get stocked for the upcoming holidays! I can’t wait to have some new things to offer in my shop soon. xo

Friday, June 20th, 2014

Yet another messy and busy week has just flown by. These are a few instagrams from around the studio. I’m pretty excited about the whales and fruits… looking forward to turning them into something special and adding to the shop soon. xx

Tuesday, December 10th, 2013

Some really fun watercolor invitations I worked on for a recent shoot. I’m so excited about these and the shoot in general (I also got to photograph). The team was amazing and I’m excited to share more soon. Hope everyone is staying sane through these busy December weeks!

xox

Tuesday, September 24th, 2013

A recent wedding at the Hersey Hotel in Pennsylvania. I created simple but elegant black and white calligraphy for this couples invitations, place cards, menus, and signs. I just had to share a few extra photos taken by Naomi, this wedding (& the bride) looked gorgeous!